Website Targets Cast Lead Soldiers

An anti-Israel website listed personal information about IDF officers and soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 11/19/2010, 5:09 AM / Last Update: 11/19/2010, 5:05 AM

A new anti-Israel website has published personal information on hundreds of IDF officers and soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in early 2009, calling them ‘war criminals’.

The website called on internet users to distribute the personal information on the soldiers throughout the web and said that the solders “held key positions as part of a murderous mechanism.”

The list included soldiers’ names, pictures, personal addresses, dates of birth, and their role in the IDF.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in response to the website that it “regrets the exposure of details of hundreds of officers and soldiers, under the heading ‘war criminals’, while defaming their names.”

The website was criticized by several MKs. MK Aryeh Eldad contacted the Attorney General and the Minister of Defense and requested that they begin an investigation to determine who is behind the website. MK Danny Danon called for an emergency Knesset hearing on the matter.

MK Majali Whbee (Kadima) called on the Attorney General and the Israeli police to investigate who is behind the website, and said: "Whoever incites against Israeli soldiers, calling them war criminals and thus drawing their blood, should be punished for that and the Israeli police must act in order for that to happen as soon as possible.”

The Israel Sheli (My Israel) organization offered a reward of 10,000 NIS to whoever will provide information that will enable to locate the people behind the site. The organization also began a campaign on its Facebook page entitled “Sue me too.” A link to a petition was placed on the Facebook page, urging users to sign that they confirm that they too can be sued for war crimes.

The Land of Israel Legal Forum suggested that the New Israel Fund's possible involvement in the website be investigated. Its chair, Nachi Eyal, said: “The website which shows soldiers as war criminals is a natural extension of the policies of the extreme left organizations that incite a war against IDF soldiers.”

The website was taken down on Thursday. The service provider posted a message on the site which read that it was taken down due to violation of terms of use. However, it was reported later on that the website was back online.